The U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions on January 12 on two companies in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates as part of a crackdown on the financial network funding Iranian-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen.
The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement that the companies had shipped Iranian commodities on behalf of a Huthi financial facilitator's network and that revenue from the sales of the commodities supported the Huthis "and their continued attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden."
"The United States continues to take action against the illicit Iranian financial networks that fund the Houthis and facilitate their attacks," Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson said in the statement. "Together with our allies and partners, we will take all available measures to stop the destabilizing activities of the Houthis and their threats to global commerce."
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Who Are The Huthi Rebels And What Are Their Links To Iran?
The sanctions were announced after the United States and Britain carried out strikes on Huthi rebels to stop their attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The statement identified the financial facilitator as Sa'id al-Jamal, saying he "engages in a variety of commercial activities that involve the sale of Iranian commodities" to generate revenue for the Huthis and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force. Al-Jamal was designated for sanctions by the Treasury Department in June 2021.
The companies designated for sanctions on January 12 are Cielo Maritime in Hong Kong and Global Tech Marine Services in the United Arab Emirates.
Cielo Maritime has shipped Iranian commodities to China in support of Sa'id al Jamal, according to the statement. Its vessel, the Mehle, used forged shipping documents to disguise the Iranian origin of the cargo, it added.
Global Tech Marine Services has similarly shipped Iranian commodities in support of Sa'id al-Jamal, the statement said. Its ship, the Sincere 02, "sought to disguise the origin of the goods using forged documents," OFAC said.
The sanctions also target the Mehle and the Sincere 02 and two other vessels operated by Global Tech Marine Services that the department said have shipped Iranian commodities.
The sanctions freeze all property and interests owned by the companies in U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit people in the United States from dealing with the companies.